til we see the sunlight
the tiktok ban has just manifested in the united states. i was on that app since 2019. i don't remember what eventually convinced me to download it but i found myself delighted with it in ways that i hadn't with a piece of software in a long time.
i was introduced to some amazing creators on that app that provided different perspectives and challenged my own understanding of myself and the world around me. i will miss hearing from them. many of them are on bluesky so if we're lucky, they'll remain active there. i rarely use instagram anymore and i haven't used twitter in years. i leave figuring out why as an exercise for the reader. so if those creators end up on those platforms, i suppose i won't hear for them for a while/ever again. if that's the case, thanks for the entertainment and the education. i'd like to call out a few creators who's content i enjoyed immensely, hopefully their voices can continue to reach the ears of many:
- imani barbarin. disability advocate and communications expert. if something wild is happening, odds are imani called it months/years prior. i've never seen communications broken down so well. it's not a realm i'm familiar with but imani makes it understandable. https://bsky.app/profile/imanibarbarin.bsky.social
- christina brown. phenomenally adept at discussing race and Blackness. if nuance is something you're not looking for, keep it pushing. christina will bring all the necessary nuance to any discussion she enters. https://bsky.app/profile/keatingssixth.bsky.social
- christina will also be co-hosting this podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/5wxMJUeugUVajiKFh4aNWf
- christian divyne. ever feel like the world is making zero sense and nobody is saying anything about it? christian will say it. and he'll try to make some sense of what's going on too. i just ask that you please don't confuse him with some other Black man that you may be upset with. this happened way too often on the clock app. https://bsky.app/profile/xiandivyne.bsky.social
there are more creators that i'll miss of course and i'll probably write about them too in the coming weeks as i remember. but those were 3 of my favorites. the "we've been banned" modal that pops up on the app now makes me feel a bit weird about returning to the app even if it does come back. this is mainly due to the circumstances i believe would have to exist for the app to return. not exactly my cup of tea. so if this is it it...it was a great run tiktok. thanks for getting me through my m.eng. and life post-college. and for keeping me up-to-date on what it takes to continue to be covid conscious. i'm still masking and getting vaccinated. i hope you are too reader.
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